AFTER EFFECTS 2022+ · REORDER LAYERS, KEEP THEIR ORDER
Rearrange a busy comp in one click, and keep your layers in order.
Bring to Front, Send to Back, Forward and Backward as four big buttons next to a live layer list. A selection keeps its order when it moves, so you can rearrange a busy comp without hunting through it.
01 / THE CHORE
Forty layers deep, and the one you need is at the bottom.
Moving layers in a busy comp means scrolling the Timeline to find them, dragging them past everything in between and checking where they landed. Move several at once and you have to check they are still in the order you had them. Then the next comp needs the same.
// what you do today, per move // scroll the Timeline to find the layer // drag it up past the others // drop it, check where it landed // several layers? check they are // still in the order you had them // a locked one in the way? unlock it // Layer Order moves the selection in // one click, keeps its order, and // leaves locked layers where they are.
02 / HOW IT WORKS
Select, click, done.
Select the layers
In the Timeline as usual, or in the panel's own list: click, Ctrl/Cmd-click to add, Shift-click for a range.
YOU GET
Find the layer without scrolling forty layers deep.
01
Pick a move
Bring to Front or Send to Back moves them above or below everything else. Bring Forward or Send Backward moves them one step.
YOU GET
No more dragging through a crowded Timeline.
02
Keep their order
Scattered layers move together and keep their order. Blocks step as one, and locked layers stay put with a note.
YOU GET
The stack comes out the way you meant, not reversed.
03
See the result
The list updates with the new order, and one undo puts the stack back.
YOU GET
Every move checked at a glance, and reversible.
04
03 / USE CASES
One layer or a scattered selection.
Scattered layers to the top
Select two layers from different places in the stack and click Bring to Front. Both go to the top, still in the order they had between them.
A block, one step at a time
Neighbouring selected layers move together as a block, one step per click, stopping at the next layer that is not selected. Separate parts move on their own and join up as you keep clicking.
Undo step per move, named after the move.
The tests run every move against a model of After Effects' layer stack. They check that scattered layers keep their order at the front and the back, that blocks step together, that locked layers stay put with a note, and that one undo puts the stack back as it was.
04 / DETAIL
Built for real comps.
List
A live layer list
The active comp's layers, top to bottom, with their label colours and a lock icon on locked ones. It updates as you work, with a status line such as 12 layers, 2 selected.
Selection
Select from the panel
Click, Ctrl/Cmd-click or Shift-click in the list, and the same layers are selected in the Timeline. Select in the Timeline and the list follows.
Order
Relative order kept
Selected layers keep their order among themselves when they go to the front or the back, even when they started far apart.
Blocks
Blocks move together
A run of neighbouring selected layers steps forward or backward as one block and stops at the first layer that is not selected.
Locks
Locked layers stay put
A locked layer in your selection is skipped, the rest still move, and the panel lists which layer it left and why.
Undo
One undo step
Each move is one undo step, named after the move, such as Edit › Undo Bring to Front.
05 / WHAT YOU GET
Everything in one download.
The Layer Order panel, as a .zxp installer
A personal licence key for one computer
Free updates for every 1.x version
Direct support: reply to your receipt email
REQUIREMENTS
What happens to locked layers?
They stay where they are. The other selected layers still move, and the panel lists each locked layer it skipped.
What if I select layers that aren't next to each other?
Bring to Front and Send to Back gather them at the top or bottom in the order they had. Bring Forward and Send Backward move each separate part one step, and the parts join up as you keep clicking.
Which versions of After Effects are supported?
After Effects 2022 and newer.
Is it a subscription?
No. You pay once, and every 1.x update is free.
How do I install it?
Install the free ZXP Installer from aescripts, drag in the .zxp file, restart After Effects, and open Window › Extensions › STRAT Layer Order. Paste your licence key and click Activate. Moving to a new computer later? While online, click Deactivate this computer in the panel on the old one, then click again to confirm.
What if something doesn't work?
One undo puts the layers back as they were. Then reply to your receipt email and tell us what happened.
Layer Order
Reorder layers in one click.
Four buttons, a live list, and one undo if you change your mind.
Get Layer Order
$8.99
One-time payment · 1 computer · free 1.x updates · local taxes added at checkout